Gardening - grace grits and gardening

Spring Porch Pizzazz: a happy thing.

April 17, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner

I’ve been working to add a little spring pizzazz to our porches. In Northwest Arkansas, the weather has warmed enough to mix annuals into containers. My empty containers have been patiently waiting for warm temperatures. Empty containers are sad, sad things.

Totally pizzazz-less.

I planted a few of my favorites including salvia, petunia, calibrochoa, asparagus fern, and lobelia. The large containers look sparse now, but within only a few weeks, we’ll have a stunning display leading to our front porch. Plants need room to grow. I know this. Even so, I had to resist the urge to overfill. And if it’s left up to my husband, we’ll over-plant right off.Continue Reading

How to Grow a Clematis Vine (as big as a dinner plate)

April 12, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner

I thought since my clematis flowers are as big as a dinner plate, this would be a good time to talk about growing clematis vines. For the beginner gardener, clematis is a great plant to start with because it’s a pretty undemanding vine. When it bursts into bloom you’ll feel encouraged and believe down deep where you live that your thumb has turned a brighter shade of green. That’s a nice thing to believe.

There’s no reason to make gardening difficult. Grow what works for your area and skip the fussy mussy plants. That’s my motto.

When to plant?

How about today? Continue Reading

A Pop of Spring Color for the Butterflies!

April 5, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner

Raise your hand if you’re busy celebrating spring. (Both my hands are raised!) When I was asked to work with Monrovia again, I didn’t hesitate. The timing is perfect, too, because after traveling and promoting my book during March, my immediate plan was to spiff up our butterfly garden with a pop of spring color. Just in time for Easter.

Even though our established perennials are beginning to bloom, adding a few fresh, vibrant Monrovia plants into existing beds is the best way I know to give the world an immediate boost. I headed straight to the local nursery where I had no trouble filling my shopping cart with lots of spring color. Seriously, you can keep the plastic eggs and chocolate bunnies. The picture below represents my dream Easter basket!

So what’d I buy?

For the Butterflies~

Two years ago, I planted a butterfly garden in our backyard. Each spring, I add to it with butterfly attracting perennials. My husband and I live in Zone 6, so it’s a bit early to plant milkweed, but I was happy to find two of our tried and true Monrovia favorites—salvia and coreopsis. These winners are long-blooming and hardy, they complement each other in style and color, and they attract butterflies and bees.

As pollinators, butterflies and bees are critical to our environment. Flowers and flowering shrubs that attract them are high on my preferred list.